“Shoppers today feel nostalgia for the old days when shopping was special. You went downtown to shop in wonderful stores where the salespeople knew their products and cared about serving the customer,” said Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing (Stevens, Pa.), a marketing consulting firm. “But shopping has changed as big retailers following the self-service model have transformed the retail landscape. As a result, shoppers are following two different tracks: necessities shopping, where convenience and price are key, and recreational shopping, where a whole other set of rules applies. Recreational shoppers are looking for more than just buying more stuff at cheap prices. They want a fun shopping experience.”

From 1997 to 2002, the share of retail sales attributed to the 50 largest retailers in the United States grew from 25.7 percent to 31.7 percent, according to the latest U.S. Economic Census. In specific categories, including pet supplies, more than half of all sales are generated by the top 50 competitors in each category. And in general merchandise stores, including department and discount department stores, 97.9 percent of total sales are generated by the 50 largest competitors.

“This consolidation means that the biggest retailers are getting further and further away from their individual consumers. With stores spread all over the country and senior executives working out of corporate headquarters, people managing the business don’t have the opportunity to rub shoulders with their shoppers on a daily basis like small retailers do. It’s by getting up close and personal with their shoppers where small retailers can find their true competitive advantage,” Danziger said. “After all, retailing is really a people business, not a products business.”

Danziger believes shoppers will seek out stores that give them a thrill. “As the retail business continues to consolidate, shoppers will increasingly find sameness and uniformity in the products and services offered. When a shopper knows what to expect when she walks past a store, she has no incentive to wander in to shop unless she needs what the store offers,” she added.

“But when she shops for fun, she will bypass the ordinary store in favor of a store that offers a truly extraordinary shopping experience. Retailers both big and small need to transform their stores, the products they offer and the way they do business. The new experiential retailing model is to design a retailing experience for the pleasure and delight of the shopper.”

Unity Marketing’s latest study identifies the traits and motivations of recreational shoppers, which offers insights that can help small stores distinguish themselves in a consolidating market. For more information, call (717) 336-1600, or visit www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/shopping_retail/insights_study.html. [June 2006 PET AGE]